Leicester v Belle Vue Thursday 14th March

[iainb 5,017]

47 minutes ago, Lenny Lion said:

Here we go . Riders should be on parade . No more than 10 minutes of drizzle in the past 24 hours . 
 

Tactical call off by Stewart  you heard it here first .

You have to question why Oxford has gone ahead while Leicester hasn't. 

[FishersGate 522]

13 minutes ago, iainb said:

You have to question why Oxford has gone ahead while Leicester hasn't. 

I think the club is wary of the backlash from last year's rain offs. 

[Happy Hunter 370]

1 hour ago, iainb said:

You have to question why Oxford has gone ahead while Leicester hasn't. 

I don't know where you live Lenny but at 6pm and 4 miles from the track it was raining heavily. Half an hour later it was still raining heavily in South Leicester. It was still drizzling at 9.pm.

[1 valve 558]

11 hours ago, iainb said:

You have to question why Oxford has gone ahead while Leicester hasn't. 

Maybe because there hadn’t been any significant rain in Oxford for at least a day, whereas by 6.30pm the Leicester track was totally unridable. 

Edited March 15 by 1 valve

[iainb 5,017]

32 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

Maybe because there hadn’t been any significant rain in Oxford for at least a day, whereas by 6.30pm the Leicester track was totally unridable. 

The meeting was called off way before 6:30 though

[Bagpuss 10,780]

30 minutes ago, iainb said:

The meeting was called off way before 6:30 though

In which case they deserve credit for getting the call right and saving everybody loads of time, effort and money I'd have thought?

[iainb 5,017]

8 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

In which case they deserve credit for getting the call right and saving everybody loads of time, effort and money I'd have thought?

And Oxford? Criticised for going ahead in less than ideal conditions?

I wasn't at Oxford but reading speedway updates it seems that it was raining right up until start time and raining heavily during heat 1. The efforts of all their off season promotion paid off though with a home win in front of a good sized crowd... Leicester? We were all sat at home watching updates from Oxford wondering what the difference was. 

Edited March 15 by iainb

[IanBrannan 147]

35 minutes ago, iainb said:

The meeting was called off way before 6:30 though

It was based on a weather forecast, speedway clubs pay for personalised forecasts quite often, this was the exact term used on the call off notice:

The decision has been made after consulting weather forecasts, which indicate a high chance of rain in late afternoon heading up to the time of the meeting.
 

Leicester’s track has or did have quite a high clay content (not all do)  so any water getting into it so soon before means it becomes dangerous to ride by being too grippy, even if it might look alright 

[GiveusaB 1,145]

5 minutes ago, iainb said:

And Oxford? Criticised for going ahead in less than ideal conditions?

I wasn't at Oxford but reading speedway updates it seems that it was raining right up until start time and raining heavily during heat 1. The efforts of all their off season promotion paid off though with a home win in front of a good sized crowd... Leicester? We were all sat at home watching updates from Oxford wondering what the difference was. 

Oxford did go ahead, but it wasnt great...imo!

Rideable, but not raceable!!

Leicester got it right! 

[iainb 5,017]

3 minutes ago, IanBrannan said:

It was based on a weather forecast, speedway clubs pay for personalised forecasts quite often, this was the exact term used on the call off notice:

The decision has been made after consulting weather forecasts, which indicate a high chance of rain in late afternoon heading up to the time of the meeting.
 

Leicester’s track has or did have quite a high clay content (not all do)  so any water getting into it so soon before means it becomes dangerous to ride by being too grippy, even if it might look alright 

The same forecast as Oxford, I was watching the rain track across the country on the weather radar apps throughout the day (exciting I know!) and the weather in Leicester and Oxford was pretty much the same.

All, I'm saying is questions should be asked why one went ahead and the other didn't. You may have identified a potential reason in the make up of the track surface, I don't know if Oxford use a different shale to Leicester but after another winter of work on the track it still seems to be blighted by any sign of water on the horizon of the radar.

Thank goodness the season has at least started so we can have some good healthy Speedway debate 

[iainb 5,017]

16 minutes ago, GiveusaB said:

Oxford did go ahead, but it wasnt great...imo!

Rideable, but not raceable!!

Leicester got it right! 

So Oxford got it wrong? I think you watched it on the stream? Never as good as actually being there. I was following it on updates and it read as a pretty good meeting, considering people were predicting a 60-30 job. It read as if there were a number of passes (6 is the word count on updates), and a last heat decider. Oxford fans probably went home happy and I bet a fair few Birmingham fans would be happy at that result? Oxford's season is underway and they'll probably reap the rewards for this... we at Leicester are all waiting on the weather forecast for next week.

[Bagpuss 10,780]

25 minutes ago, iainb said:

And Oxford? Criticised for going ahead in less than ideal conditions?

I wasn't at Oxford but reading speedway updates it seems that it was raining right up until start time and raining heavily during heat 1. The efforts of all their off season promotion paid off though with a home win in front of a good sized crowd... Leicester? We were all sat at home watching updates from Oxford wondering what the difference was. 

I mean I wouldn't want to be making the decision as you're never going to please everybody but I'd have thought there are far more variables than just similar forecasts......type of surface, drainage, water table, how much rain there had previously been etc etc. If Oxford was King's Lynn I personally wouldn't have taken the chance last night and  would have been happier with an early call off like Leicester but each to their own. 

[IanBrannan 147]

2 minutes ago, iainb said:

The same forecast as Oxford, I was watching the rain track across the country on the weather radar apps throughout the day (exciting I know!) and the weather in Leicester and Oxford was pretty much the same.

All, I'm saying is questions should be asked why one went ahead and the other didn't. You may have identified a potential reason in the make up of the track surface, I don't know if Oxford use a different shale to Leicester but after another winter of work on the track it still seems to be blighted by any sign of water on the horizon of the radar.

Thank goodness the season has at least started so we can have some good healthy Speedway debate 

I hear what you’re saying but they are totally different tracks, without knowing exactly how much water each had taken in the days running up to the event it is hard to know. Tracks do need water of course so rain can be your friend, but there’s a fine line.  We will do something to explain this on BSN, it is a point that can confuse fans but tracks are different. Glasgow & Workington are very different to Redcar and Leicester for example.  Stewart will have driven back and forth from Scotland to prepare it over the weeks so the last thing anyone wants to do it pull it as it also means the club makes nothing too. 

[iainb 5,017]

8 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

I mean I wouldn't want to be making the decision as you're never going to please everybody but I'd have thought there are far more variables than just similar forecasts......type of surface, drainage, water table, how much rain there had previously been etc etc. If Oxford was King's Lynn I personally wouldn't have taken the chance last night and  would have been happier with an early call off like Leicester but each to their own. 

It is very much to do with track surface imo, KL has been completely ruined the the shale that they use, it used to be one of the very best race tracks in the country, not so much now. But it is a multi use surface, not like at Leicester. It'd be interesting to know how many clubs' first meetings have been cancelled over the years, probably their most important meeting of the season next to a PO Final.

5 minutes ago, IanBrannan said:

I hear what you’re saying but they are totally different tracks, without knowing exactly how much water each had taken in the days running up to the event it is hard to know. Tracks do need water of course so rain can be your friend, but there’s a fine line.  We will do something to explain this on BSN, it is a point that can confuse fans but tracks are different. Glasgow & Workington are very different to Redcar and Leicester for example.  Stewart will have driven back and forth from Scotland to prepare it over the weeks so the last thing anyone wants to do it pull it as it also means the club makes nothing too. 

I don't particularly think fans are confused by the fact that tracks are different, we all know this. I think what confuses many fans is why matches that went ahead in years gone by are sometimes called off well in advance today. It really is something that blights the sport, fans don't know whether they coming or going and are often sat at home (or even worse in a hotel room local to the track) on a lovely sunny night wondering why there is no Speedway on. We all know the reasons behind this, what would be more interesting would be to ask what could be done about this, whether this be some kind of all weather track surface, track covers, wet weather setups on the bikes etc.

[lisa-colette 6,031]

20 minutes ago, iainb said:

So Oxford got it wrong? I think you watched it on the stream? Never as good as actually being there. I was following it on updates and it read as a pretty good meeting, considering people were predicting a 60-30 job. It read as if there were a number of passes (6 is the word count on updates), and a last heat decider. Oxford fans probably went home happy and I bet a fair few Birmingham fans would be happy at that result? Oxford's season is underway and they'll probably reap the rewards for this... we at Leicester are all waiting on the weather forecast for next week.

Also Oxford don't seem to like an early call off (based on last couple of seasons). Which sometimes means a half 7 call off which can upset some fans depending on how far they travel. But a lot of time they get meetings on when others probably would have called it off. It seems a  lot of teams decide things on the forecast, where Oxford tend to keep it on until the track is under water. I assume they have a good base or drainage which can take a bit of water.